


On Rainy Days

by gh0stberry



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Dialogue Heavy, M/M, of-age drinking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-17
Updated: 2017-03-17
Packaged: 2018-10-06 12:46:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,131
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10335032
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gh0stberry/pseuds/gh0stberry
Summary: The first time they meet, it's raining.





	

**Author's Note:**

> this is a very very loose garden of words au i wrote while rewatching garden of words. you don't need to watch the movie before you read this. barely proofread/unbeta-ed so if you catch a spelling mistake let me know i'll fix it

The first time they meet, it's raining.  
  
It drums against Leo's umbrella, providing a background for the melody bouncing through his mind. He has no business in the park, but he follows the trail with the confidence of the purposeful, letting the symphony run its course. He will remember it.   
  
But the notes skip, suddenly falling out of line with the rain against the pavement. He stands before the gazebo in shocked silence. He lets himself stare at the person inside for only a moment.   
  
He must be his age, more or less. They're roughly the same height, or at least he thinks so. It's hard to judge when only one of them is standing. The man on the bench casts Leo a cursory glance, face nonchalant, and moves over to make room. Leo nods, closes his umbrella, and sits down. There are no words exchanged.   
  
The rain drums against the roof the same way it drummed against his umbrella, and the symphony picks up again. He begins to record it, pretending he doesn't feel the stranger's gaze on him. He lets himself be absorbed.   
  
The stranger watches the rain fall, creating silent waves in the pond below. The snap of a can being opened momentarily pokes at Leo's concentration, but he keeps his head down. It is only when the melody begins to fade out that he looks up again. This time he takes in the stranger fully.   
  
Definitely his age. His red hair reminds Leo of a ruby, but he can't decide on his eyes. Purple is too simple, periwinkle too blue, lavender too light. Violet, perhaps. The suit and tie seems like overkill, but it's not like Leo _knows_ the guy.   
  
The stranger brings a can of beer to his lips. He's watching Leo. Leo is watching him.   
  
"Are you old enough to drink that?" He asks, overtaken by curiosity. The stranger raises an eyebrow at him.   
  
"Yes."   
  
"Really?"   
  
"I'm 20."   
  
"Ah..." So he's younger than Leo after all. "22."   
  
"You don't look it."   
  
"What does that mean?!"   
  
"You're short." The stranger puts the now empty can on the bench and stands. He peers out at the trail for a moment, then opens his umbrella. He is gone before Leo can give him a response.   
  
\-   
  
The next day, Leo wakes to see the sun. He stuffs his notebook into his bag anyway and boards the subway.   
  
Two stops later, Izumi boards. He spends the rest of the trip listening to his friend drone on about work and class and someone he met in a convenience store. For a moment, Leo considers bringing up the gazebo, but they arrive at their stop and he loses his chance.   
  
He lets Izumi drag him to class, even though both of them know he won't pay attention. College wasn't really Leo's choice, after all.   
  
He tries to draw the stranger in a different notebook, but he's never been particularly good at that kind of art.   
  
\-   
  
Two days later, it rains again. This time, the stranger greets Leo with a soft, "Hello."   
  
"Hi..."   
  
Leo starts a new symphony. The stranger opens a new can of beer.   
  
"Do you always come here in the morning and drink by yourself?" Leo asks when the music in his head begins to catch on itself. "Isn't that kind of pathetic?"   
  
"Possibly," the stranger says. There's a small smile on his face, a reluctant giving in to his amusement. Or perhaps he's just humoring Leo.   
  
Silence overtakes them again. Within the hour, the rain turns to drizzle, then mist, then dissolves completely. Leo nods to the stranger as he leaves. The stranger smiles again.   
  
\-   
  
The next day it rains again, and again, Leo finds himself at the gazebo. The stranger is there first, as always, but this time he has coffee. There's another cup where Leo usually sits.   
  
"I decided to be less pathetic today." The stranger is smiling as Leo takes the cup, but it still makes Leo want to wince. Hearing it from someone else's mouth makes it sound so harsh.   
  
"You're still skipping work to drink in a park by yourself though."   
  
"I'm not alone," he replies. "I have you."   
  
"I don't count," Leo says automatically.   
  
"Then neither do I," the stranger says simply. "And that makes you just as pathetic, for coming here to sit alone and write music."   
  
Silence.   
  
"How did you guess I was skipping work?"   
  
"College students don't wear suits and ties every day."   
  
"You would know?"   
  
"Yes."   
  
The stranger makes an impressed sounding hum.   
  
"What's your name?"   
  
Leo looks up, and meets that violet gaze. He feels like a butterfly, pinned at the wings. Trapped. Admired.   
  
"Tsukinaga Leo."   
  
"Suou Tsukasa."   
  
"Suou? The rich ones?"   
  
"Yes." The stranger looks down at the empty coffee cup in his lap. His fingers circle the edge of the lid.   
  
Leo tips his head back. His neck rests against the top of the bench. His eyes remain trained on the damp boards of the gazebo roof. "Huh."   
  
\-   
  
He falls into a routine. When it's sunny, he takes the subway, and trails Izumi to class. When it rains, he trails the music in his head until he finds Tsukasa.   
  
Tsukasa doesn't seem to mind the silence. He always waits until Leo's pen slows to speak beyond a gentle greeting. Sometimes he drinks. Sometimes he eats. Sometimes he watches the rain on the pond. Sometimes he brings something for Leo. Sometimes he doesn't.   
  
"Do you play?" Tsukasa asks one morning with a nod to Leo's closed notebook. "Or just write?"   
  
Leo looks down. "I play. But I like writing better."   
  
"I see." Tsukasa's gaze on him is unwavering. He does not seem daunted by their age difference. The disrespect of the rich, maybe, or is this _thing_ they have something that can be called closeness?   
  
"I'd love to hear something from that notebook of yours one day." The words are so soft Leo barely catches them over the pitter-pattering of the rain. But he does. He keeps his eyes down.   
  
\-   
  
"Isn't it unhealthy to drink nothing but beer and coffee every morning?"   
  
Tsukasa raises his eyebrows at him. "It's horrible," he agrees. "I hate bitter things."   
  
"Then why do you drink them?"   
  
Tsukasa pauses to ponder this. "Hmm... because it doesn't matter, I suppose."   
  
"It doesn't matter..." Leo repeats. "Bullshit."   
  
"It's true," Tsukasa insists. "No matter what I do, I can't get myself fired. My father is stubborn."   
  
"What does that have to do with bad drinks?"   
  
Tsukasa smiles, the same small smile he always gives Leo. It feels fake. "I will take my hardships where I can get them."   
  
"Spoiled brat," Leo says unthinkingly. Tsukasa nods, as if he agrees with the accusation.   
  
"So if you don't wanna work for your dad, what do you wanna do?" Leo asks later on, when he tires of the silence.   
  
Tsukasa looks at him steadily. He does not seem embarrassed as he answers. "A chef, maybe. Or... I've always enjoyed singing."   
  
"Singing, huh...?" Leo smiles to himself.   
  
"What about you?" Tsukasa leans forward in a rare expression of genuine emotion. He looks childlike in his curiosity.   
  
"Composing is the only thing I'm good at," Leo admits.   
  
Tsukasa only nods.   
  
\-   
  
"You're almost out of paper," Tsukasa comments one day as Leo shuts his notebook.   
  
He looks down at the small leather bound book, turns it on it's side, opens it again. Tsukasa is right.   
  
Leo answers with a shrug and thinks nothing of it. He can get another one.   
  
The next day, instead of a coffee cup in his seat, he finds a leather bound notebook, identical to the one in his bag.   
  
Leo glances at Tsukasa. He sips his coffee and avoids Leo's eyes.   
  
\-   
  
Too soon, the rainy season ends. The sun burns for days on end. Leo's notebook remains unopened in the bottom of his bag, while his seat on the park bench remains unoccupied.   
  
There's an unexpected pang in his chest as he boards the train every morning.   
  
\-   
  
Two months pass, and finally, he can't take it anymore. Leo walks to the park while the sun burns down on his neck.   
  
The rhythm of his feet against the pavement isn't enough; music doesn't come to him this time. But he isn't here for the music for once.   
  
Tsukasa looks up, startled, when Leo crumples onto the bench beside him.   
  
"I thought you only skipped on rainy days."   
  
"I made an exception." Leo lets himself stare. He drinks in the sight of the man next to him. His hair is longer, and his collar and tie are looser in the summer heat. He holds a book this time instead of a beer can or coffee cup.   
  
"You'll never graduate at this rate."   
  
Leo shrugs and the silence stretches. As if he hasn't been away. As if it hasn't been two months. They sit in their own worlds, just as they always have. But this time, Leo is the one watching Tsukasa.   
  
He doesn't know how long it takes for Tsukasa to close the book and set it aside, to meet Leo's eyes with his small, fake smile.   
  
His eyes have changed. They are so much sadder now, as he looks at Leo. It makes his stomach twist.   
  
"Tsukasa...?"   
  
"I'm glad you're here," Tsukasa says. "I didn't think I'd get to say goodbye."   
  
"Eh?"   
  
Tsukasa's words hang in the air between them. The humid air makes Leo's shirt stick to his back. Cicadas buzz. Tsukasa looks down.   
  
"My father thinks giving me my own branch will make me more responsible. I'm moving North next week."   
  
Leo turns those words over in his mind in numb silence.   
  
"I truly will miss your company, Leo." Taking his silence as an answer, Tsukasa stands up to leave. His shoes click once on the tiles before Leo lunges forward and latches onto his wrist.   
  
"You can't!"   
  
Tsukasa's eyes are mournful.   
  
"I haven't... You haven't heard anything yet. Anything I've..." He trails off. He knows Tsukasa knows what he means.   
  
"I leave on Thursday," is all Tsukasa says. "Wednesday morning... I'll be here."   
  
Leo lets go, and Tsukasa vanishes into the trees.   
  
\-   
  
The following Wednesday is the only time Leo ever sees Tsukasa without a suit. He sits in the same place, familiar white take out coffee in his hands, with a oversized hoodie sliding off his shoulders. He smiles at Leo as he approaches. He takes a sip as Leo sinks onto the bench.   
  
"So," Leo starts.   
  
"So."   
  
"This is it."   
  
"Mm."   
  
He fishes around his bag to stall before pulling out the small wrapped package. He holds it out to a wide-eyed Tsukasa.   
  
"Open it."   
  
The strings fall away, then the paper wrapping. Tsukasa's lips part slightly as he retrieves the mp3 player, then the folded papers underneath. He opens the papers first, one hand coming up to muffle his sob as he skims them.   
  
"No..."   
  
"You said you wanted to hear something. Sorry it's not from that notebook," Leo says, bringing a hand up to rub at the back of his head.   
  
"Lyrics too?"   
  
"You said you like to sing."   
  
"Leo..."   
  
He'd been afraid to look Tsukasa in eye, unsure of how he'd react, but something in is tone makes Leo drag his eyes to the other man. His eyes shine with tears.   
  
"Consider it repayment for the notebook."   
  
Tsukasa nods. He lets his tears flow freely as he carefully wraps the package back up and adds it to the luggage at his feet. When he stands back up, he turns to Leo and wordlessly opens his arms. After a heartbeat, Leo goes to him.   
  
This close, Leo can inhale and catch the smell of coffee and cologne. There could be any number of people in the world that smell exactly like this, but he savors it anyway. It fits Tsukasa.   
  
"Tsukasa."   
  
"Yes?"   
  
"I think I'm in love with you."   
  
Tsukasa sighs into his shoulder.   
  
"I think I am too."   
  
\-   
  
Leo watches the train leave town from the roof of his dorm. When it leaves his line of vision, he looks down to the notebook sitting on the ledge.   
  
He opens to the first page. Blank, but for a series of numbers at the top of the page. He feels like laughing. Of course Tsukasa would do something like this.   
  
He doesn't notice the tears on his cheeks until the first one falls on the paper.   
  
\-   
  
Tsukasa doesn't fish the mp3 player out again until the town he's leaving is no longer on the horizon behind him.   
  
His hands shake as he plugs his headphones in. He is hesitant as he presses play.   
  
His forehead comes forward to rest against the glass of the window and he swallows the lump in his throat as he hears the first bars of music.  
  
-


End file.
